Did somebody say gelato???

Yesterday, a group of us took a day trip to Lucca, a lovely, quaint little walled town in Tuscany about an hour and a half train outside of Florence. This was a blast from the past because when the Granade-Turman clan took Italy back when I was in elementary school, we rented a beautiful villa on a hill just outside the town for about a week. From that vacation, a lot of "Granade-isms" and "Turman-isms" were born.

For those of you who are in on these moments, here are a few things that you will understand that happened in that very city:

"Did somebody say gelato??"

"Uh, scuzi. I'll take the local pudding, too!"

"Do we look the type?"

"And I know Ferragamo."

For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, don't worry. You had to be there.

Anyways, Lucca was just as delightful as I remembered it from fifth grade, if not more! We spent the morning strolling around the town, poking into a few churches, moseying through the markets, popping into a few shops, and munching on some delectable pizza at the recommendation of Gillis. I had asked for a slice of pizza with salami on it (surprise, surprise) but was presented with slice of margherita with a large piece of proscuitto on top. While I was initially disappointed, this slice of pizza was divine. I scarfed it down, and we moved on in search of a bike rental shop.

Mary Raine, Christie, Amy, Taylor, and Caroline outside of Pizza da Felice post-yummy lunch

The main thing I remember from when my family came to Lucca was riding bikes around the walls of the city. Eager to do this again, we grabbed bikes and set off through the town to get onto the wall. After weaving through a few pedestrians, we rode up onto the wall. The views of both the town and the mountains and countryside were just amazing. We had the best time zooming around and trying to take pictures of each other on our cute Italian bikes.

MR and I looking tres sportifs (sorry, I don't know how to say that in Italian yet) on our bicycles

A view into Lucca from on top of the wall

Caroline looking good on her bike as she zoomed ahead

Also, the weather here in Italy is just perfect right now. It's not hot, but it isn't cold, either. It's that cool beginning of fall sort of breeze that keeps us feeling happy and comfortable as we explore more and more of this wonderful country. Christie has been occasionally stopping dead in her tracks and saying, "There it is!! Do you smell it?? Do you smell fall??"

Did somebody say gelato?? At this scrumptious window I got a scoop of serena, a flavor that combines ricotta, pine nuts, and honey.

Off to the laundromat to wash my bed spread--I think it could be the reason that I have been sneezing up a storm since I've been here!

Ciao ciao,
Grace